By Abebe Haile – Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in his latest appearance at the parliament, said that the country would harvest 800 million quintals of produce this year, taking into account the agricultural activities carried out during the Kiremet (from June to September) rainy season.
This is more than 200 million quintals of production compared to the 600 million quintals harvested from the 20 million hectares of land cultivated last year. “22 million hectares of land will be cultivated this year. This means that we have added two million hectares of land that have not been used for agriculture in the past. This is a great achievement in and of itself. Not only in production but also in land use.”
He said preparations are underway to irrigate three million hectares of land for summer wheat
production, an initiative that has bear fruit following the implementation of the Homegrown Economic Reform.
It has been stated in many reports that, in light of unsuccessful previous projects, the new irrigated wheat development scheme has been found transformational to secure self-sufficiency in food and wheat production.
Last season, the country harvested a record 8.2 million tonnes of wheat from 2.6 million hectares of land. Hence, it helped the country achieve a wheat self-sufficiency ratio of 100%. Prime Minister Abiy, while in parliament, also said that the cluster farming strategy the government has put in place, like wheat, has achieved significant results in rice, coffee, and fruit productivity.
“There is no doubt that there is an increase in productivity. We see it greatly in agriculture. It does not mean it is enough. More work needs to be undertaken. We need to make sure that the inputs and technology the farmer needs are also produced in the country.”
It is true that ensuring the supply and accessibility of agricultural inputs has an irreplaceable role to play in boosting productivity. However, for agrarian African countries, the biggest challenge in their strive to ensure food security continues to be evolving climate change.
In Ethiopia, erratic rainfalls were seen in different production areas recently, which forced the Ministry of Agriculture to issue a warrant for farmers and stakeholders to collect and store their produce in a timely manner.
According to a recent report released by UNOCHA, heavy rains followed by unusual floods have caused widespread destruction and displacement in four regions of the country. As reported by local media, in the Somali region alone, flood incidences in 33 Woredas have killed 28 and displaced more than 500,000. More than 99,000 hectares of farmland were also destroyed.
In Dassenech woreda, it is said that 27 of the 40 kebeles are now completely flooded. In addition to the damage, 1,435.75 hectares of irrigated crops and 123,000 hectares of animal grazing land also became underwater.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people in various parts of the country, including the Amhara and Tigray regions, have been suffering from severe droughts, and the number of lives lost to famine is increasing by the day, said local government officials.
Experts in the sector say Ethiopia, just like other African countries, has limited capacity and that it is impossible to control droughts and floods induced by climate change through an early warning system and preparedness. Thus, such natural disasters, including locust infestations, continue to challenge the overall food system in the country.
Above all, dependence on rain-fed agriculture and a high level of poverty are the main factors that exacerbate the country’s vulnerability to hydro-meteorological hazards and natural disasters.
Yet, Ethiopia’s policy response to climate change has progressively evolved for decades, with the Green Legacy Initiative being the latest. In light of the frightening environmental degradation, the country has successfully planted over 25 billion seedlings since 2019.
To ensure development through green initiatives based on proven knowledge and coordination,
Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative has multiple targets. Contribution to food security is one, as hundreds of millions of fruit seedlings that have high values, such as avocados, mangoes, apples, and papayas, are among those planted.
While encouraging the attainment of food self-sufficiency through sustainable agriculture, the initiative complements the country’s adaptation goals through forest conservation, reforestation, and restoration of degraded land, surface soil, and water.
It is a fact that the benefits of environmental protection and the restoration of overexploited and degraded natural resources will significantly contribute to Ethiopia’s efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Nevertheless, the IPCC findings show that extreme weather events will increase food insecurity risks, food price rises, reduced food diversity, and reduced income for agricultural and fisherman’s livelihoods, preventing Africa from achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 by 2030.
In its policy brief for COP 28, the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) also noted that, more than any other region, climate change has reduced agricultural productivity growth in Africa by 34% since 1961. Hence, future farming is predicted to negatively affect food systems in Africa by shortening growing seasons and increasing water stress, with global warming above 2°C resulting in yield reductions for staple crops across most of Africa.
AFSA, which is a consortium of climate actors from 35 African countries, advocates for the integration of adaptation actions centered on agroecological approaches that put small-scale food producers and indigenous communities at the centre of climate solutions in climate policy interventions.
“We strongly promote agroecology, which encompasses a model of agriculture based on diversifying farms and farming landscapes, transitioning from chemical inputs to bio-inputs, optimizing biodiversity and stimulating interactions between different species as part of holistic strategies to build long-term healthy and climate-resilient agro ecosystems, promote territorial markets and secure livelihoods.”
Lessons around the globe shows that diversity matters. If crop fails due to prevailing diseases and other climate variability, the farmers will be left with debts only. However, diversification increases their resilience allowing them to have varieties of crops at the same time that they can rely on when one fails in such unfortunate times. In addition, they cannot feed their families producing maize or wheat only. Locally adapted diversified farm provides nutritious and variety of foods to improve their livelihood and generate better income from the market.
Further, agriculture that is based on agro-ecological approaches and on diversity is resilient to shocks caused by various socio-economic, climatic, environmental and health factors improving productivity and creating more resilient landscapes and livelihoods.
Typical climate change adaptation options in agriculture include use of different varieties or species, new cropping practices(e.g., different timing of planting), greater use of water conservation and management technologies, diversification of on-farm activities, biological pest control, improvement of soil structure and health, enhancement of agro-biodiversity, adapted livestock and pasture management, improved management of pests, diseases, and weeds, biological nitrogen fixation, and the recycling of nutrients, energy and west as inputs to the production process.